Pennichuck falls short in D-II final

The Pennichuck Middle School boys soccer team couldn’t complete its bid at consecutive undefeated Division II Tri County League seasons, losing a hard-fought championship game 3-2 to Windham.

The 10-1-2 PMS Raiders were led by a stellar defense and the goaltending of Josh Lentz, who was playing his first year of organized soccer.

Lentz compiled a 0.846 goals against average, giving up only 11 goals in 13 games. The defense was anchored by center back Gabe Buxton with a supporting cast of Ryan Downing, Andrew Schott and Michael Poublon.

Along with starting striker Rory Curran (10 goals, five assists), the starting midfield of Joey Morse (six goals, one assist), Joao Neto (13 goals, eight assists), Colin McMahon (four goals, seven assists), Quinn Hilger and Ely Ostler also was key.

The Pennichuck squad was coached for the fourth straight year by Josh Downing.

The roster this year was as follows:

Eighth graders – Joao Neto; Colin McMahon; Ely Ostler; Rory Curran; Nolin Hitzeman; Justin Velazquez; Matt Rittenberg; Jamie Maddock; Santiago Ospina; Josh DeMoura; Cam Maloney; Alex Durant; Ryan Downing; Joey Morse; Andrew Schott; Gabe Buxton; Michael Poublon and Josh Lentz.

Seventh graders – Quinn Hilger; Connor Dunning; Stephen Norris; Brendan McMahon and Colin McCarthy.

Sixth graders – Oscar Trujillo; Franky Colon; Quinton Bolton; Andrew Barry; Courtney Miller and Connor Dowling.

Jeff Morse was the assistant coach and the team was managed by Mina Morcos.

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